Garment hanger



Feb. 28, 1956 O, c, JANlK 2,736,474

GARMENT HANGER Filed Jan. 28, 1952 FIG. 2

3 INVENTOR o. CARL L. JANIK BY cmgwaaw ATTORNEY United States Patent2,736,474 GARMENT HANGER ()svald Carl L. Janik, 01d G'riiwicii, Conn.Application January 28, 1952, Serial No. 268,559 2 claims. (C1. na -90)My invention relates to an impreved garment hanger for use in supportingwearing apparel like a full suit of either a mans or womans clothes,*o'rcoats and the like.

It is an object of my invention to provide a garment hanger which iseasily and readily collapsed or folded to occupy a small space, forinstance in a suitcase, and which may easily and rapidly be returned toits extended position for use.

Another object is to provide a garment hanger with an apparel-supportingstrap preferably made of a plastic composition which has sufficientflexibility to assume the contour of the shoulders of any coat which ishung thereon.

Another object is to provide a novel stop structure which will preventthe fully extended hanger from buckling or collapsing under the weightof garments hung thereon.

A further object is to provide a garment hanger having a simple grippingmeans for suspending trousers or skirts therefrom, said means beingeasily and rapidly adjustable laterally for all sizes and widths oftrousers and skirts.

And still another object is the provision of a foldable garment hangerthat is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture, yet is durableand effective for the purposes intended.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description consideredin connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

in the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the garment hanger embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of my garment hanger in its foldedposition;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the pivotal portion of mygarment hanger showing my stop device more clearly.

Referring to the drawings and especially to Fig. l, the verticalsuspension member or post of my hanger frame is referred to by thenumeral 10. Vertical post It) is preferably formed of a single strand ofwire having its upper end bent and terminating in a loop 12 positionedtransverse to vertical post 10. The lower end of post may be bent andformed into a loop 14 disposed in the same plane as post 10. As seen inFigs. 1 and 2, hook element 16 is connected to vertical post 10 byhaving its shank 18 pass through loop 12 in a loose fit. Shank 18 at itslower end terminates in an enlarged base part 20 which prevents the hookelement 16 from becoming detached from vertical suspension member orpost 10, but at the same time permits the hook element to swivelthereabout. Thus, it will be noted that the hook element 16 may befreely rotated to any position so that the hanger may be utilized inplaces where under ordinary circumstances it could not be used. Pivotedto vertical post 10 at its loop 14 are a pair of arms or bars 22 and 24,each arm being preferably a single strand of wire extending in oppositedirections. Both arms 22 and 2,736,474 n-tented Feb. 28, 1956 24 haveportions at one end 26 and 28 respectively which are bent and looped.Vertical post 10 and arms 22and 24 are preferably secured together bymeans of a transverse screw 30 passing through the opening formed byaligned loops 14, 26 and 28 and threaded into a headed sleeve in saidopening (not shown). Arms 22 and 24 pivot about the loop 14 of verticalpost 10, The other ends of arms 22 and 24 are also bent and arepreferably shaped into rectangular loops 32 and 34 respectively whichare substantially perpendicular to said arms. A flexible strap 36 whichis preferably made of a plastic composition is secured at one end 38 torectangular loop 32 and at its other end 40 to rectangular loop 34. Ends38 and 40 of strap 36 may be fixed at 39 and 41 to portions of strap 36by heat bonding, glueing or by any other practical means. Strap 36 issupported intermediate of its ends 38 and 40 by a cross arm 42, saidcross arm being secured to vertical post 10 by welding or any othersuitable means. Strap 36 has an aperture 44 through which a portion ofvertical post 10 projects. Plastic strap 36 has sufficient flexibilityto assume the contour of the shoulders of a coat or any other garmenthung thereon, thereby suspending the garment in a more wrinkle-free andorderly fashion.

As clearly seen in Fig. 3, arm 24 is provided with a stop 46 securedthereto near its loop 28. Stop 46 extends laterally from arm 24 and isso placed and arranged that it will engage and abut arm 22 in the fullyextended position of my garment hanger to form a rigid, balanced hangerframe, thus preventing the collapse or buckling of the hanger under theweight of garments hung thereon.

As seen in Fig. l, spring-pressed clips 48 and 5'0 are slidable on arms22 and 24 respectively. When the garment hanger is in fully extendedposition as in Fig. 1, clips 48 and 50 are movable on their respectivearms 22 and 24 laterally relative to each other. It is apparent that thedistances between clips 48 and 50 may be adjusted in order toaccommodate trousers and skirts of different sizes and widths.

Fig. 2 shows my garment hanger in its folded or collapsed position witharms 22 and 24 pivoted from the position shown in Pig. 1 to fold backupon themselves.

Strap 36, hook 16 and vertical post 10 lie between said arms, said strap36 and hook 16 being maintained by gravity in place as shown. Arm 22pivots in a clockwise direction, and arm 24 in a counter-clockwisedirection in order to move my hanger from its extended position shown inFig. 1 to its folded position shown in Fig. 2.

In the drawings l have shown the wire frame of my garment hanger to beround, however I do not wish or intend to be limited to the use of roundwire, as wire of rectangular or oval section, or fiat strip or sheetmetal may be used.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that my garment hanger,although being foldable to occupy a minimum of space is still strong anddurable, and effective when extended to suspend a full suit of a mans orwomans clothing or the like.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that certain changes in the details ofconstruction and in the arrangement of the parts may be made withoutdeparting from the underlying idea or principles of the invention withinthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A foldable garment hanger comprising a suspension member having anintegral loop transverse thereto, a loosely connected and freely movablehook element swiveling in said loop of said suspension member, a pair ofarms pivoted to one end of said suspension member and having the freeends thereof each formed into a loop transverse to said arms, a flexiblestrap being supported intermediateof its ends by said suspension member,said ends of said strap being secured to the loops at the free ends ofsaid pair of arms, a pair of spring-operated clamps on said armsadjustable laterally relative to each other, said arms being adapted tobe folded in a compact position with said hook element positioned on oneside of said suspension member and substantially parallel thereto, andsaid arms being extended in opposite directions for normalgarment-hanging use in another position, and a lug on one of said armsbeing located adjacent to the pivoted end of said arm and having aportion thereof projecting laterally therefrom in a direction transverseto the longitudinal axes of said arms and in the path of movement ofsaid other arm to thereby engage the other of said arms when said armsare in extended position to keep said arms aligned substantiallyco-axially to each other and substantially perpendicular to saidsuspension member.

2. A garment hanger comprising a suspension member having an integralloop transverse thereto, a looselyconnected and freely movable hookelement swiveling in said loop of said suspension member, a pair ofsingle strand wires pivoted to one end of said suspension memher, aplastic strap being supported by said suspension member and the freeends of said pair of wires, a pair of garment-engaging means on saidwires adjustable laterally relative to each other, said wires beingadapted in one position to fold back upon themselves and in anotherposition to be extended in opposite directions for normalgarment-hanging use, and a laterally projecting lug on one of said Wiresbeing located adjacent to the pivoted end of said wire and having aportion thereof extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinalaxes of said wires and in the path of movement of said other wire tothereby engage the other of said Wires when said wires are in extendedposition to prevent movement of said wires beyond said extendedposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS254,451 Bisbee Mar. 7, 1882 990,515 Bement Apr. 25, 1911 1,105,019 BluhmJuly 28, 1914 1,243,519 Healey Oct. 16, 1917

